Pizza Express - St Pauls, London

On Wednesday (it's been one of those weeks) my good friend and colleague came down to the London office to stay for a night. We decided to go for a Pizza Express before seeing a film and opted for somewhere near the office - Pizza Express St Paul's.

We didn't book but walked straight in and sat down, with our orders placed and drinks on the table ten minutes later. It was quick and the service was all right - I did feel a bit bad that we didn't tip but there was no change and nothing was extraordinary. I don't see the point in tipping people for doing their job - Screw the 12.5% discretionary charge! I could rant all day on how I hate restaurants who point out you haven't paid the full amount. Discretionary is a word that some service staff don't seem to understand and being rude enough to point it out only makes me more determined that I won't pay it.

So... Back to the restaurant and the meal. The restaurant was Pizza-Expressed. We got a leather banquette, table & chair combo which worked quite well but we had two noisy city men next to us talking about how Jewish princesses were difficult. I almost wanted to lean over and give them a tip - Don't call them that! We had starters and main courses, all of which were yummy. We didn't have enough time between starters and mains if I'm being honest but as I was hungry, I could let it slide.


Starters:
- Formaggio bread (Baked dough topped with creamy fontal cheese, tangy caramelised onions and a sprinkle of fresh parsley)
- Baked Dough balls

Mains:
- Pollo Pancetta (Torn chicken breast, yellow peppers, smoked pancetta and fresh parsley. Instead of tomato, this is served on an aromatic sauce made of red and yellow peppers)
- My own pizza: Margherita with prosciutto ham, rocket and baby mozzarella

The food was delish - as you can see! - and filled us up nicely. The dough balls were so hot and tasted like they'd just been baked. Probably my favourite starter although the caramelised onions on the formaggio bread were sweet and tangy. My pizza was well cooked, not burned, and really hit the spot. The dough was almost undercooked and it meant the tomato sauce was sauce-y and not baked on, something which I love. The prosciutto ham was a bit mild taste-wise but the rocket was pepper-tastic and the mozzarella was fresh.

Damage: £17 with a tastelondon 50% off made this meal go from good to great. It was brilliant value and it only makes me remember why I never seem to have a bad meal at Pizza Express.

Vitals

Pizza Express - St Pauls
Condor House, London, EC4M 8AY
Tel: 020 7248 9464
Website: http://www.pizzaexpress.com/

Nearest tube: St Pauls